Is Your Roof Suitable for Solar Panels? A Guide for Carterton & Oxfordshire Homes

The 7-point roof check

You can do most of this from your garden or on Google Maps satellite view. Tick off as many as you can, then send us what you find.

1. Which way does your roof face?

South-facing roofs produce the most electricity over a year. East- and west-facing roofs produce a bit less in total but spread generation into mornings and evenings – often a better match for families and people working from home. Many of the newer estates around Carterton and Witney have east/west roofs, and split systems across both slopes work well. North-facing roofs are rarely worth it on their own.

2. What's the pitch?

Around 30–40° is ideal, which covers most pitched roofs in the area. Shallower roofs and flat roofs (garages, extensions, dormers) still work using angled mounting frames.

3. Is there enough space?

A typical 4kW home system is around 10 modern panels, needing roughly 20m² of clear roof. Smaller arrays are fine – they just generate less. Velux windows, vents and chimneys eat into usable space, so measure the uninterrupted areas.

4. Does anything shade it?

Trees, chimneys, dormers and neighbouring buildings all matter – especially between 10am and 4pm. Partial shade isn't a deal-breaker: panel optimisers or microinverters stop one shaded panel dragging down the rest. In leafy villages like Charlbury and Woodstock, we check shading in winter too, when the sun is lower.

5. What condition is the roof in?

Panels last 25+ years. If your roof needs recovering in the next few years, do that first – removing and refitting panels later costs money. Slipped tiles, sagging ridges or failing felt should be fixed before install.

6. What's it made of?

This is where Oxfordshire gets interesting – see roof types below.

7. Are your electrics ready?

This is the step most solar sellers skip – and it's the one we care about most as electricians. We check your consumer unit (fuse board), earthing and space for an isolator and generation meter. Older boards may need upgrading. We also handle the notification to your local network operator so your system is connected properly.

Oxfordshire roof types: what works

Planning rules in West Oxfordshire & the Cotswolds

For most houses, roof-mounted solar is permitted development – no planning application needed – as long as panels don't sit above the highest part of the roof and project no more than 200mm from the slope.

Things get more careful in parts of our patch:

• Listed buildings always need listed building consent – common in Burford, Woodstock and Chipping Norton.
• Conservation areas (including the historic centres of Witney, Burford, Woodstock, Chipping Norton and Charlbury) have extra conditions, such as no panels on walls facing a road.
• Article 4 directions can remove permitted development rights on specific streets.
• The Cotswolds National Landscape covers much of the area north and west of Carterton, where visual impact gets more attention for anything prominent or ground-mounted.

What if your roof isn't suitable?

A "no" on the roof isn't always a "no" on solar:

• Garage, outbuilding or extension roofs – often south-facing and easier to work on.
• Ground-mounted panels – great for larger gardens and rural properties around Burford and Charlbury.
• Plug-in (balcony) solar – legal in Great Britain since 27 August 2026. Kits are limited to 800W output and one per household. They're modest, and not every home's wiring suits them – for example, some older RCDs are unsuitable. If you're considering one, we can check your electrics first.
• A battery on its own – no panels needed. Charge on a cheap overnight tariff and use it at peak times. See our guide: why solar battery storage matters now.

Why now: VAT and energy prices

Two things make autumn and winter 2026 a good time to get your roof assessed:

• 0% VAT ends on 31 March 2027. Home solar and batteries are currently zero-rated. From 1 April 2027 the rate is due to rise to 5%, and the government hasn't said it will extend the relief.
• Electricity prices are rising again. Ofgem's price cap went up 4% from 1 October 2026, and further rises are forecast for early 2027.

Surveys, design and any planning checks take time, so booking a roof check now gives you room to install well before the VAT deadline – and get panels up ready for spring, when generation picks up.

What happens on our free roof check

1. Quick chat or photo check – you send photos or we look at satellite imagery to rule out obvious no-goes.
2. Home visit – we check roof orientation, shading, condition, loft access and your fuse board.
3. Planning check – we confirm whether your property is listed, in a conservation area or covered by an Article 4 direction.
4. Clear written quote – system size, expected generation, whether a battery makes sense, and a fixed price. No pressure.

Frequently asked questions